Red Rice Flour Puttu ( Kerala Rice Flour Puttu / Chemba Puttu)

Today's treat is Puttu made with store-bought red rice flour. A very healthy and delicious breakfast. I usually prepare it on weekends. This dish is quite popular in South-India. I love to have it with coconut, little sugar sprinkled, and banana. DH loves to accompany it with kadala curry. You can find the recipe for kadala curry here.

Ingredients:

Red Rice Flour - 1 cup
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
Salt - as per taste
Lukewarm water - 1/4 cup

Method:

Take red rice flour in a wide plate, mix it with salt. Now, using your hand, sprinkle water little by little on red rice flour and mix well. When it has reached the texture of crumbs, stop adding water. But make sure that the flour is wet, otherwise it will not cook properly.

Take "puttu kutti, the utensil used to prepare puttu. Fill the pot with water and put it on flame. Now, take the top portion, and start filling it with a handful of wet flour and 2 tbsp of shredded coconut alternatively till it is full. I like to end with shredded coconut layer. Close the lid.

When water in the pot starts to boil, place the top portion over it. Reduce the flame to medium. Let it cook for 15 minutes.

Serve it with sugar and banana; or with kadala curry. Enjoy!!

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

Read more...

Scrambled Egg Taco

Last week we had been to Taco Bell and I was surprised to see the varieties of Mexican cuisines. There I fall in love with "The Tacos". Everybody knows how to make tacos: brown the meat, place it with other veggies, garnish and serve. Awesome, good for some, go make tacos.
If you want a good taco recipe that uses spices from the cabinet, or if you are crazy like me.... Then keep reading! :)

The salad itself is very easy to make and also, I made my own tacos. For this I used store bought corn tortillas, fried them in oil, till crispy and while frying I fold them to form the shape of taco.

As I made them for breakfast, I used scrambled eggs instead of meat. No doubt, a big forkful of scrambled egg shots with Mexican spirit - that is, with tomatoes, chillies and cilantro and if those eggs are rolled into warm corn tacos, I'll bet the experience itself seared itself into your brain.

Ingredients:

4 small corn tortillas
2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup onion, sliced
4 chopped green chillies
3 eggs
2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Salt to taste

To Garnish : chopped tomato, chopped cilantro and tomato ketchup

Method:

Heat oil in a pan and fry corn tortillas, flipping them frequently until done. Just before taking them out of oil, fold them to form the shape of taco.
Instead of frying, you can microwave them. All you need to do is, wrap the tortillas in foil and place in oven to warm at 300F. Check in between to see whether the tortillas are crispy enough.

In a medium skillet, heat 1 tsp oil and add chopped onions and green chillies. Saute for 5 mins. Beat eggs with milk, salt and half of cheese. Pour into the skilled and cook, stirring to scramble, until eggs are done.
Spoon the egg mixture onto the tacos. Top it with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, tomato ketchup and shredded cheese.

Note: Instead of ketchup, you may use any type of salsa.

I believe, all contrasting flavors and textures make this a special experience. Enjoy your Mexican breakfast.

This entry goes to event BSI-MILK hosted by Sanyukta.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

Read more...

Methi de Parathe

Finally back after a break and lemme confess here "the actual break is yet not over!!". But as I've already mentioned cooking is my passion and I can't hold myself for long time... And I'm back to my blog world...

Couple of months back, my mom asked me to have soaked methi seeds before going to bed. As we all know, methi seeds have lots of medicinal and culinary properties. One day I forgot to have them and as they were soaked, the seeds got sprouted and I was in no mood to have them any more. Atlast, there was no other option, except, spreading them in my kitchen garden.. I firmly believe, it wasn't a bad decision.. coz now I had yummilicious methi de parthe, with methi leaves right from my garden... isn't it Wowy??

I love methi in my paratha for the beautiful aroma and slight bitterness they add to it. We can even use kasoori methi or dried methi leaves for making paratha. You just need to soak them in water for few minutes and mix it in the flour.. But I like to have fresh leaves, add it to any dish and the dish becomes so delectable and tasty.. I know many of you guys will agree with me...

Ingredients:

A bunch of tender methi (fenugreek) leaves (chopped)
3 cups wheat flour
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
1-2 tsp Oil or ghee

Method:

Heat oil and saute cumin seeds. In another bowl, add some salt to the chopped methi leaves and keep it aside for 5-10 mins. Squeeze water out of it. Add it to the remaining ingredients (except oil) and prepare the dough. Apply oil over the dough to make it soft and keep it aside for another 1 hr.
Make golf sized balls out of the dough. Roll out each and heat it on tawa or griddle until both sides are golden brown. Spread oil or ghee while this process. Keep it covered to keep it soft. Serve hot.

There you go!! Serve it as breakfast with some raita or just curd or lemon pickle.

This entry goes to event Global Kadai : Flat breads hosted by Sandhya and started by Cilantro and also to Think Spice - Think Fenugreek hosted by Priya and started by Sunitha.

Read more...

Poori with Tomato Chutney

I know you guys might be wondering.. What a combo? But yeah! this is my dad's favourite dish for breakfast. Every Sunday, poori with tomato chutney will be the weekend special. And surprisingly, for the past twenty-five years it seems to be the greatest hit in my mom's kitchen. He still enjoy this dish as if he is having it for the first time. But the main reason for posting this uncommon recipe here is the event I Love My Dad hosted by Jay.

Also, when I called him to wish on Father's Day and asked "What's Special There Daddy??" He said (filled with joy) "Lajawab poori aur tamathar ki chutney".  And this left me thinking, "What's so special about this dish?". But yeah! it is still my dad's "The Favourite Dish".
So, when I came across this event at Jay's blog, I've decided that I'll definitely post this simple recipe for her event. It's just a small attempt to spread my dad's simple taste among others.  

Ingredients:

For Poori -
1 cup Wheat Flour
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste
Warm water as required

For Tomato Chutney -
4 ripe tomatoes, cubed
1 large onion, diced
3 green chilli, chopped
1 (1 inch) ginger root
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Red Chilli (dry)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Pwd
1/4 tsp Turmeric Pwd
2 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Cilantro, to garnish

Method:

For Poori -

Put the wheat flour in a large bowl, make a well in the center of the flour and add salt.
Add little water at a time and start to mix to prepare the dough. Instead of water, we can add yogurt to make soft and chewy pooris. Knead the dough until it is medium-soft. Add 1 tsp oil and knead again for few minutes. Cover the dough with damp cloth and keep aside for 15 mins.
Now divide the dough into golf-sized portions and roll these portions into balls between your hands till they become soft and without any cracks. Using rolling pin, roll each ball into a 5" circle.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan on a medium flame. Deep fry the pooris one at a time, pressing gently over both sides with a slotted spoon. This will help the pooris to puff up. Fry until it turns golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.

For Tomato Chutney -

Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds and dry red chilli. Add onion, green chillies and garlic clove, saute till onion turns translucent. Add red chilli pwd and turmeric pwd, saute for a minute. Add tomato pieces and ginger. Cover and cook till all masalas are mixed completely and tomatoes are tender. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro.

Avoid using the same oil for frying pooris. Use left-over oil, after frying, for regular cooking purpose.

Read more...

Indiano Pasta

I'm not much crazy about pasta and the reason is the repetitive bland pasta taste. I was craving for a spicy, a desi version of pasta and the result is this recipe. This dish has no particular recipe to follow, I add anything that comes on my way through the kitchen racks. But it came out so well, "Truly Desi"!!!

Ingredients:
1/2 pack (8 oz) - Pasta, cooked as per instructions
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, cubed
1 green chilli, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1-2 garlic pods, chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
a hint of garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp lime juice
1/2 tsp oil
1 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
Salt to taste

Method:
Cook pasta as per instructions. Heat oil in a pan and splutter cumin seeds. Add chopped garlic, onions and green chilli. Saute till onions are translucent. Add chopped bell pepper and saute until it becomes soft. Add chopped tomato and masalas, cook covered till the tomatoes are tender. Add salt to taste.
Toss in the pasta and stir to coat it well with the sauce. Cover and cook for 5 mins. Remove from heat and add lime juice. Garnish with cilantro.
You can also use tomato ketchup, if required.

This is the best dish for snacking.. I'm loving it!!!

Read more...

Kadala Curry

Being a keralite, I thought to begin with an authentic kerala cuisine, "The Kadala Curry". The main ingredient is Karutha Kadala which is known as Bengal Gram or Black Chick Peas and Kala Chana in Hindi. Kadala curry makes a best combination with Puttu and this is my husband's favourite dish for breakfast.

Ingredients

Black Chick Peas/Kadala (soaked overnight in water) - 1 cup
Onion (sliced) - 1 large
Garlic Pod (chopped) - 3
Green Chillies (sliced) - 2
Tomato (sliced) - 1 medium
Curry Leaves - A few
Grated Coconut  - 1 tbsp
Red Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chopped Cilantro - 1 tbsp
Salt - As required

Method 

Soak Chick Peas overnight in water. Cook it in pressure cooker adding enough water and salt. Heat little oil in a pan and fry grated coconut till golden brown. Remove from pan & keep aside to cool. When it is cooled, grind it until it turns into a fine paste. Now add oil into the same pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, sliced onions and sliced garlic pods. Saute till onions are translucent. Add all the masalas and tomato into it. Saute till tomatoes are cooked well. Add cooked chick peas along with water into the pan. Mix well and allow it to boil for 5 minutes. Add the ground paste into the curry & mix well. Simmer it for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve along with puttu, upma, appam, idiyappum or puri as well.

Read more...